The Story of Behind the Gospels
Who am I and what do I do?
My platform informs me that I have now been writing for ninety-two weeks, but it has just dawned on me that in all of this time I have never once said a proper hello.
So if you’ll forgive me, I wish now to say a very belated: Hello!
I’m John Nelson, and in this piece, I want to give you a glimpse into my background and how I came to study the Bible. I also want to share with you some of the things I do beyond the blog, my wider vocation, and how Behind the Gospels fits into it.
Background & Studies
After my school days at a Church of England comprehensive in the suburbs of North-West London, I went to the University of Nottingham for a brand new BA programme in ‘Biblical Studies and Theology’. While I was attracted to the prestige of other universities, I was even more enticed by the prospect that I would spend all of my days in Nottingham learning Greek and Hebrew and thumbing through biblical scholarship. And if my friends are to be believed, that is essentially all I did!1
Following my undergraduate studies, I went to the University of Oxford for a few years, where I read a Masters in Theology (New Testament) and took a postgraduate certificate in education. Between degrees, I had worked as a Special Educational Needs’ TA in London, and I knew that teaching was a deeply rewarding job that I wanted to do. Little did I know that the world was about to be hit by a pandemic.
The prospect of beginning my teaching career on Zoom seemed pretty bleak, so I applied to the University of Edinburgh for a PhD to work with Helen Bond, Professor of Christian Origins. What was initially a project on Mark as a parody of ancient lives quickly became a study of why the gospels, unlike many other biographies, never describe Jesus’ physical appearance. This study was the fruit of a decade-long fascination with the gospels as a form of life-writing or ‘ancient biography.’
Teaching Theology & Philosophy
One of the best things about being a PhD student is the opportunity to tutor undergraduates. In Edinburgh, I had the privilege of taking two wonderful courses – Jesus and the Gospels and The God(s) of the Philosophers – and this only confirmed my vocation to discuss ideas and share with others the subjects I love.
So after three years in Edinburgh, I came back to London to to teach. For the past two years I have been in the Theology & Philosophy faculty at Haberdashers’ Boys’ School, while preparing my thesis for publication. I am delighted that it is now due to be published by Bloomsbury in December as Jesus’ Physical Appearance: Biography, Christology, Philosophy. It is an academic monograph so it’s quite pricey (£81 – at 10% off!), but if you are interested in a copy, you may be able to find it in a local library.
I really enjoyed my time at Habs. It gave me a much need routine after the autonomous, anxiety-inducing life of a grad student. And more than anything, it was deeply joyous to be so involved in the co-curricular life of the department: bringing in academics, supervising our T&P Society, editing our department’s annual journal and hosting a conference on the question, Is God Dead in the 21st Century?
Unfortunately – I ran into a problem! Earlier this year, Labour added VAT on school fees, and shortly after that rise I was informed I would not have a job come September. At the time, this was deeply depressing. I had poured my heart, soul and intellectual efforts into the school – yet I was also comforted by a strange sense of peace. I had a feeling that something perhaps might be looming around the corner.
Now, I teach cover for two days a week and put a on few different hats for the rest it. These ‘hats’ are some of the things I’d put on already as well as some new ventures.
Biblical Time Machine
One of those hats is for a Time Machine – or more specifically, Biblical Time Machine! A few years ago, my Doktormutter, Helen Bond, began a history podcast with an American journalist, Dave Roos. But after Dave landed his dream job, Helen asked whether I might do some research for the show and become its producer.
The show is now on its fourth season and features many of the names which frequently come up on Behind the Gospels. This season alone we have already recorded episodes with Dale Allison, Graham Twelftree and Mark Goodacre, to name but a few! It has been a joy to touch base with these scholars to produce the show.
There are really two things that make Biblical Time Machine unique. One is that it is completely ad-free. This is made possible by the support of the incredible Time Travellers’ Club, a group of Patr(e)ons who pay just £4 a month and gain access to bonus episodes as well as the opportunity to sit backstage on the recordings. (If you have ever wanted to meet your academic heroes, this is one of the best ways to do it!)
The second is the quality of the discussions. Helen now hosts the show with long-time friend and Ancient History Prof, Lloyd-Llewellyn Jones. Between them, they are a veritable treasure-trove of information about the Hebrew Bible, New Testament, and ancient civilisations from Persia to Rome. And they are always joined by carefully selected guests who are at the height of their fields. If you aren’t already a listener, Biblical Time Machine is worth checking out, wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Hosting Conversations
Another hat I have just begun to put on is as a conversation host. For a long time, Premier Unbelievable? has been a flagship show, bringing Christians, sceptics and all those in between into dialogue about the so-called ‘big questions’ of life.
My first show on the channel brought a cosmologist and an engineer together to discuss all things cosmological: does the Universe have an absolute beginning? Does fine-tuning point to a fine tuner? Does cosmology conflict with faith? While biblical studies is my first love, I am also fascinated in these wider questions in the philosophy of religion, and it is a privilege to get to chat with some amazing people.
Speaking of amazing people, YouTuber Alex O’Connor and I will be discussing God, Consciousness and Philosophy at Leicester Square Theatre in November. Alex has done so much to bring the academic discussion of philosophy to a vast online audience, so I look forward to what that highly nerve-racking discussion might yield!
Writing Behind the Gospels
My last – but my by no means least – hat is this weekly blog, Behind the Gospels. I set out to write it shortly after I started full-time teaching. While I loved teaching, I was concerned that school would suck up so much of my mental energy that I would soon forget about scholarship – and also, frankly, forget how to think! So with a desire not to let my brains fall out, I set out to write – as someone who writes to think.
Yet there was another reason I started Behind the Gospels. Like many students of the Bible, I turned online to read and watch videos that served as an extension of my studies. But I found that so few of the names, texts and ideas I studied had made any inroads into the online space. On one end of the spectrum, one finds devotional content and apologetics – on the other, wild revisionist takes and polemics.
So I established Behind the Gospels to trace something of a middle path. Unburdened by the pressures of peer-review, I want to set out many of the foundational and fascinating ideas I encountered in my studies. Whether it is Jesus’ connection to lives of Vespasian, Moses and Aesop, or studies of the sources behind the texts, my aim is to make high-level scholarship fruitful and accessible – whether you are a Hindu mystic, an atheist, a priest, or just someone who is interested in learning more.
My Vocation – Making Ideas Accessible
In all of my work at the moment, then, I see this as my vocation: to make complex ideas accessible. Whether it is school-teaching, podcast production, hosting conversations or writing, I want to expose my readers and listeners to ideas which are well thought-through and well articulated. It is this that I enjoy more than anything else in the world, and this which is the story behind.. Behind the Gospels.
Threads on Behind the Gospels…
Thank you for reading this post! If you are interested in some of the topics I cover on the blog, there are a few ‘mini-series’ which link them together. Here are just three:
Sources Behind the Gospels: I take a look at whether the gospels are anonymous, question whether the oral gospel tradition can be likened to a ‘telephone game’ and probe the identity of the ‘beloved disciple.’ In some Mark-related posts, I ask if Peter stands behind Mark, whether eyewitness testimony is found in the gospel, and consider the existence of an extended pre-written passion source.
The ‘Missing Years’ of Jesus: The lost years of Jesus are often treated by sensationalists but not serious historians. In this series of posts, I offer a more historical foray into Jesus’ missing years, considering questions like whether Jesus learned to read and write, and whether he ever got married.
Jesus and Other Lives: Here I take a comparative approach to show how ancient figures can shed light on Jesus’ story. I look at a range of pagan and Hebrew characters like the Emperor Vespasian, the legendary fabulist Aesop, and Moses.
Thank you to all those who currently support my work. If you don’t support yet but would like to, please take advantage of the offer below. This will give you access to 40+ posts on the Gospels, historical Jesus and early Christian history:
Though with a lot more Greek than Hebrew.
Thank you for this article. It's beautiful. We can gain access to serious but relatable scholarly work through your substack. You were planning to add on video content to this platform. I hope it happens soon.
Thanks for sharing. Long time listener of Biblical Time Machine & Premier Unbelievable. Hade no idea you were involved. Keep up the good work 🍻